A Chilling Mystery, Shattered Loyalties, and a New Year of Deadly Consequences**

Emmerdale is gearing up for one of its most explosive festive seasons yet, delivering a Christmas and New Year packed with danger, heartbreak, and a string of chilling mysteries that threaten to unravel the village from the inside out. With the Dingle family at the epicenter of the chaos and Robert Sugden’s sudden disappearance sending shockwaves through the community, this year’s holiday season is shaping up to be the most emotionally devastating and suspense-filled in recent memory.

A Mysterious Assailant Targets Aaron & Robert — And Then Robert Vanishes

The season begins with Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden facing an unseen enemy who seems determined to terrorize them at every turn. First come the smashed windscreens. Then trees are burned to cinders outside Mill Cottage. Each attack escalates in boldness and malice, building toward a terrifying climax.

Aaron immediately suspects Ross, convinced long-standing tensions and resentment have finally boiled over. The two men clash again and again, Aaron’s fury intensifying with each new attack. But Ross has an alibi. And the truth — far more sinister — lurks just out of frame.

On Christmas morning, what should be a peaceful celebration turns into a nightmare. As the villagers gather at the Woolpack for mulled wine and festive cheer, Robert tells Aaron he needs to head off for a moment. Aaron doesn’t think much of it — until Robert doesn’t come back.

At first, confusion. Then worry. Then dread.

Robert is gone. No word. No sign. No explanation.

The darkness that has been creeping around the couple suddenly strikes head-on, leaving Aaron spiraling into a frantic search for the man he loves. The village may be sparkling with fairy lights, but for Aaron, Christmas has never felt so terrifyingly cold.

Kim Tate Isolated and Vulnerable — And Lydia is Hiding a Terrible Truth

Over at Home Farm, Kim Tate faces her own bleak holiday season. After canceling her Christmas dinner and isolating herself among photographs of loved ones she has lost, she finds herself physically incapacitated and utterly alone. Her fall leaves her unable to move — vulnerable in a way Kim Tate never allows herself to be.

Enter Lydia — who, despite Kim’s stern commands to leave, refuses to abandon her. But Lydia’s determination to stay is not only out of concern. She and Sam are hiding the shocking truth about their role in Kim’s accident, a secret that could destroy the fragile trust they’ve built with her.

Lydia’s choice to remain by Kim’s side may seem noble, but the weight of her deception threatens to crush her. As Kim grows increasingly emotional and disoriented in her isolation, Lydia’s guilt becomes a character in the room — and one wrong move could expose everything.

Ry and Celia Prepare to Flee — and a Deadly Task Looms

While the Dingles face danger, Ray Walters and Celia Daniels make preparations to flee the village. Their troubled world has been closing in, and they know their time is running out. But as their escape plan unfolds, Ry faces an unthinkable task — a job so gruesome he can barely force himself to do it.

Ry dreams of a life with Laurel — a real Christmas, a real future, something warm and safe and wholly different from the shadows he’s entangled in. He even organizes a fake Christmas lunch for her, savoring a brief fantasy of normalcy. But reality is cruel. Ry’s mission threatens someone unsuspecting in the village, someone whose life hangs in the balance without them even realizing it.

And this time, love might not be enough to save him.

Bear’s Disappearing Act and Charity’s Looming Crisis

Bear’s absence weighs heavily on Paddy, who fears being alone at one of the most important times of the year. But Bear’s silence is more than loneliness — it adds another unsettling mystery to the growing list of fears haunting the village.

Meanwhile, Charity is balancing her own precarious secret — one that is edging dangerously close to exposure. She spends Christmas with Vanessa, who gets drunk enough to risk spilling everything. Charity later curls up beside Mackenzie, blissfully unaware that danger is circling her doorstep as well. For once, Charity isn’t the architect of her own downfall — but the consequences may be just as severe.

Jai Knows Too Much, April Makes a Shocking Discovery

Elsewhere, the pressure builds on Jai, who holds far more information than is safe for any one man. A secret that could destroy reputations — and possibly lives — now weighs on his conscience. And he’s running out of time to choose between silence and catastrophe.

Meanwhile young April stumbles upon a devastating truth. Terrified and unsure of whom to trust, she begins formulating a desperate escape plan. The innocence of Christmas is nowhere to be found. In its place: fear, urgency, and a ticking clock.

A Threat to Life Casts a Shadow Over the Village

Tension ripples outward like a stone cast into dark water. Wedding plans continue, villagers toast to the holiday, and fireworks light up the night sky over Hotten — but beneath the glitter lies a terrifying reality.

Someone’s life is in imminent danger.
Someone is being hunted.
Someone is about to make a deadly mistake.

And as the clock strikes midnight, ushering out 2025 and welcoming 2026, Emmerdale shifts from festive chaos to pure dread.

A New Year Begins With a Happy Surprise — and Deadly Consequences

Just as the villagers begin to breathe again, a joyful surprise knocks the wind right back out of them. What should have been a moment of celebration becomes the spark that ignites an even darker chapter.

Ry’s grisly Christmas assignment comes back to haunt him. A long-buried secret detonates with catastrophic force. Loyalties shatter. And in the chaos, someone makes a choice that leads directly to a fight for survival — a fight that will end in tragedy.

Hidden truths rise to the surface in the cold light of January. And for at least one character, the new year could be their last.

Aaron Faces the Unthinkable

But through every twist, one question overshadows the rest:

Where is Robert Sugden?
And who — or what — took him?

As days pass with no sign of Robert, Aaron is left clinging to hope while battling the sinking certainty that something truly terrible has happened. He scours the village, confronts old enemies, and retraces every step — but Emmerdale has turned silent on him.

The mysterious assailant who targeted them has escalated. And Robert’s disappearance was not random.

It was personal.

The Tension Breaks — and the Truth Emerges

The holiday season’s tension coils tighter and tighter until the new year snaps it loose like a loaded spring. And when it finally breaks, the truth erupts in a dramatic confrontation that reveals the identity of the enemy stalking the Sugdens and Dingles.

A secret years in the making comes to light.
A life hangs in balance.
And nothing in Emmerdale will ever be the same.